Department for Transport

Transport: Lancashire

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals are set out in the Autumn Statement for increased spending on transport schemes in Lancashire; and whether they include improvements to the railway between Preston and Colne such as the construction of a passing loop on the 11-mile single-track siding between Gannow Junction and Colne.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Autumn Statement provided an additional £2.3 billion for transport including: £1.1 billion for the local road network and £220 million to relieve congestion on the strategic road network; £150m for flood resilience activity; £80m to accelerate the rollout of Smart Ticketing; £390m for future transport technologies such as low emission and connected autonomous vehicles; and £450 million to trial digital signalling technology on the rail network to help improve reliability. We will announce in due course how this money will be spent, but it is likely to include investment in Lancashire. There were no specific provisions in the Autumn Statement for improvements to the railway between Preston and Colne. However, as part of our commitment to transport investment to build the Northern Powerhouse, passengers travelling on that line will get a full hourly Sunday service – twice as many trains on Sunday compared to now, and with the entire Northern fleet being refurbished, passengers will notice rolling stock improvements across the franchise. Beyond that there is a franchise wide, £38m investment in bringing stations up to standard, with benefits for many stations including new platform seating, replacement shelters, new waiting rooms and toilets, and customer information screens. Next year the Government will set out its priorities for investment in railway services and infrastructure in the next railway Control Period (2019-2024). This will be informed by advice from the industry, Transport for the North and other stakeholders.

Ports

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Docks and Harbours Act 1966 and the Harbour (Loans) Act 1972 continue to have any legislative effect; and if not, whether they have any plans to repeal those Acts.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: I can confirm that certain provisions of these Acts are still extant and that the Government has no plans to repeal these Acts.

Home Office

Female Genital Mutilation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of progress in ensuring that all those involved in child protection are aware of, and take action to prevent, the procedure of female genital mutilation.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will commission research to ascertain attitudes towards female genital mutilation, including motivations for continuing to use the procedure and awareness of the law prohibiting it.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the female genital mutilation (FGM) unit will be given the remit, powers and budget to become the sole source for safeguarding girls at risk and eradicating FGM.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.The Government has taken a range of measures to support professionals, increase our understanding of FGM and co-ordinate activity across Government.This includes:• a mandatory reporting duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police came into force on 31 October 2015.• publishing new multi-agency guidance on 1 April for all frontline professionals, including the police, which is statutory, for the first time.• over 70,000 professionals have completed our free FGM e-learning, which we have updated to include information on the recent changes to the law.• the Department of Health’s £4 million FGM Prevention Programme which is improving the NHS response • Department for Education have funded the Barnardo’s and Local Government Association’s National FGM Centre which is working to strengthen the social care response.The Government also recognises the importance of gathering and disseminating information on the prevalence of, and attitudes to, FGM. In addition, we are part-funding a 2015 prevalence study and we have also introduced the recording and publication of FGM patient data across the NHS in England. We will not stop FGM until we have changed attitudes within communities. In July 2016, the Department of Health delivered a targeted patient and public facing FGM prevention advertising campaign based on our understanding of the motivations for FGM which has generated over 650,000 views on social media.We continue to work closely with community organisations, faith groups and survivors to better understand the motivations behind FGM. The FGM role and function is to coordinate work across Government and carry out outreach work. However, we are clear that all agencies have a role to play in tackling FGM.

Refugees: Children

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are proposing to resettle in the UK a proportion of the estimated 85,000 unaccompanied child refugees who have made asylum applications in other EU member countries.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016, the Government committed to relocating a specified number of unaccompanied child refugees from Europe. The specified number will be announced in due course.Under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin III Regulation, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who have family already in the UK can be transferred to the UK for consideration of their asylum claim. Between 1 January 2016 and 1 October 2016, over 140 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe have been accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, compared to fewer than 20 in 2015.Since 10 October, we have transferred over 300 unaccompanied children to the UK from France. This includes over 80 girls, many of whom were identified as being at a high risk of sexual exploitation; and more than 200 children with close family links to the UK under the Dublin III Regulation. The Home Secretary told Parliament on 24 October that several hundred more children and young people will be brought to the UK in the coming days and weeks.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many of the 19 million custody images that are being stored on the Police National Database would have to be removed if the same retention rules that apply to DNA and fingerprints were put into place.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Police National Database does not link custody images to individual crime records. Therefore this information could only be obtained through a costly and time-consuming review of all images held by forces.

Female Genital Mutilation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the Home Office FGM unit has formed operational links with police forces and Border Force airside operations to provide them with intelligence and guidance on high risk countries in relation to female genital mutilation.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to publish regular reports from the Home Office FGM unit showing high level results, progress in police investigations and examples of best practice; and whether these will then be disseminated to all professionals with a mandatory duty to report female genital mutilation.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in relation to female genital mutilation, they are taking steps to investigate additional legislative measures to ensure that more prosecutions are secured.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.The Home Office’s FGM Unit works closely with Border Force, who play a vital role in helping to identify and protect potential victims of FGM travelling to and from the UK. Border Force officers work in close partnership with other agencies, including social services and non government organisations. Between June and September, a number of operations took place at airports targeting inbound and outbound flights to and from countries with a high prevalence of FGM, forced marriage and human trafficking.Information on live police investigations is sensitive and there is therefore a limit to how much information can be shared externally. To help encourage the sharing of best practice, we have recently published statutory multi-agency guidance providing information on this in relation to FGM. The FGM Unit has also recently visited all forces in England and Wales to understand their response to these issues and identify and collate examples of best practice.We have significantly strengthened the law on FGM, through the Serious Crime Act 2015, to improve protection for victims and those at risk and to break down barriers to prosecution identified by the police and Crown Prosecution Service. Our focus is now on embedding the new legislative measures and we are working with the police, College of Policing, CPS and others to drive progress, including as part of work following HMIC’s review into so-called ‘honour-based’ violence. The Government will however keep the legal framework under constant review.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Peru: Rain Forests

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of oil spills on the environment and the livelihoods of indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon; and what contact the UK Ambassador to Peru has had with those communities.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Ambassador to Peru discussed this with the Peruvian Environment Minister on 15 August and the Energy Minister on 2 September. The Peruvian Ministry of Environment believe affected areas will take a year to recover, whereas independent scientists are of the opinion that this will take much longer and damage may be irreversible, with a direct impact on livelihoods and local economies.The Ambassador last met indigenous communities during an official visit to Iquitos in late 2015.

Peru: Indigenous Peoples

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the implementation of the Peruvian Law on the Right of Consultation of Indigenous Peoples 2011.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​This law was a notable step forward in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in Peru.Our Ambassador to Peru discussed the issue with the Peruvian Minister for Culture on 11 August. The Minister confirmed his intention to strengthen the Indigenous People's Department in his ministry to facilitate implementation of the law. We will continue to work with the Peruvian Government on this important area of activity.

Tajikistan: Uzbekistan

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conveyed a message to the governments of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to congratulate them on the agreement to restore air and rail links between those two countries; and if not, whether they will consider doing so.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​The restoration of air and rail links between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is indicative of an improvement in the relationship between the two countries in our recent months, something which the UK has welcomed in regular dialogues with both governments.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Standards

Lord Aberdare: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an organisation has been approved to carry out the end-point assessment for apprenticeship standards; and if not, which organisation will be approved.

Lord Nash: All end-point assessments must be carried out by an independent assessment organisation on the Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Apprentice Assessment Organisations to ensure they are high-quality. Each assessment organisation is approved to deliver the end-point assessment for a specific apprenticeship standard, rather than for all apprenticeship standards.The assessment market has been adjusting rapidly for most new apprenticeship standards. 61% of all apprentice starts on standards have an end-point assessment organisation available to them, whether they are close to needing end-point assessment or not. This rises to 94% coverage of all apprentice starts, including those who are expected to approach their end-point assessment within the next 12 months, for which an organisation is about to be put on the register.There are a small number of standards that already have starts, but for which an assessment organisation has not yet been confirmed. We are examining those lower-volume apprenticeships to resolve this and ensure there is always end-point assessment provision by the time apprentices complete their apprenticeship. This includes working with apprenticeship Trailblazer groups and potential assessment organisations to fill gaps in provision and put contingency plans in place.

Teachers: Re-employment

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many teachers have taken early retirement and then subsequently taken up temporary teaching posts in each of the last three years.

Lord Nash: The number of teachers who take early retirement (from state-funded schools in England) in each year from 2012-13 to 2014-15 is provided in the following table:  ACTUARIALLY REDUCED AND PREMATURE[1][2] MenWomenMen and WomenFinancial year (1 April to 31 March)2012-13[3]2,4605,4007,8702013-1432,2604,9507,2202014-1532,1604,7906,950Source: Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS). The annual School Workforce Census records temporary staff on a contract of less than one month, but it is not possible with the data available in the current form to link retirements to temporary contracts. [1] Excludes sixth form colleges.[2] Includes phased retirements and in these cases the teachers may remain in service.[3] Provisional figures which continue to be subject to slight revision due to the addition of retrospective awards.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Transfers: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many offenders were transferred from prisons in England and Wales to prisons in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners sentenced in Northern Ireland have been transferred to prisons in England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Lord Henley: The table below gives the number of prisoners transferred from prisons in England and Wales to Northern Ireland and from prisons in Northern Ireland to England and Wales in the last 3 calendar years. YEARFROM ENGLAND AND WALES TO NORTHERN IRELANDFROM NORTHERN IRELAND TO ENGLAND AND WALES20131122014632015123  The transfer of prisoners between UK jurisdictions is governed by the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. Prisoners are able to apply to serve their sentences in their own jurisdiction close to home if they wish to do so. Few prisoners do so.

Ministry of Defence

Afghanistan: Reserve Forces

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Earl Howe on 18 November (HLWS268) concerning the call-out of Reserve Forces for service in Afghanistan, what is the purpose of a continued British military presence in that country, and why it is necessary to use Reserve Forces rather than serving personnel.

Earl Howe: The UK continues to make a key contribution to NATO's Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT; non-combat, train, advise and assist mission to build a secure and stable Afghanistan. Our forces are focussed on mentoring at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy and advising Ministers and officials in the Afghan Security Ministries. The UK also leads the Kabul Security Force, which coordinates security for NATO personnel in Kabul, holds the position of Deputy Commander Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT and contributes three Puma helicopters to assist UK and NATO mobility. Reserve Forces make an essential contribution to delivering the nation's security and are a highly valued part of our Armed Forces. The Army 2020 structure sets out our whole force concept, and our Reserve Forces serve alongside their Regular counterparts on operations around the world, including the UK's current military contribution to NATO's Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT in Afghanistan.

Department for Work and Pensions

Occupational Pensions

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much time they expect it will take self-employed and small businesses to complete the administration associated with the new statutory pension scheme; and whether they will recompense small businesses for their time if all their employees opt-out.

Lord Freud: The Government is committed to helping people achieve financial security in later life and is reforming the pension system as part of its efforts to encourage a culture of saving. Automatic enrolment was introduced to enable most people in work to save for later life. It has been a great success to date with over 6.8 million eligible workers enrolled by more than 290,000 employers since it began in 2012 and it is important we recognise the contribution employers have made to this achievement. Automatic enrolment is currently being extended to small and micro employers. While the self-employed are not eligible for automatic enrolment, they will have legal duties to enrol any eligible workers in their employ. The Government understands that these employers may find complying with automatic enrolment challenging and we are doing all we can to make automatic enrolment as straightforward as possible for this group. The Department and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) are focussed on making compliance with automatic enrolment duties as clear as possible, as well as simplifying the language regarding automatic enrolment. As part of this work, TPR has launched an interactive “Step by Step” guide on their website. This simplified guide to meeting AE duties is designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. The guide includes a duties checker so that employers can easily find out what they will need to do to comply and when. Using the duties checker also means employers will receive tailored communications relevant to their circumstances. What an employer pays and the amount of time they spend on setting up automatic enrolment will depend on various factors, including how they use business advisers, how they run their payroll and which pension scheme they choose. From research it has conducted, TPR estimates that small employers with between one and four staff members usually spend a total of about 10 hours overall carrying out all their automatic enrolment tasks, over a 12 month period before their staging date. This research has also shown that average costs associated with outsourced payroll are less than £200 while average pension scheme set up costs are under £500. Automatic enrolment is a legal duty for employers, just like paying the National Living Wage, tax and National Insurance. There are no plans to reimburse employers for time or costs should their employees choose to opt-out. However, less than one in ten people are choosing to opt-out which is much lower than originally estimated. We have also seen around 5% of people not eligible for automatic enrolment choosing to opt-in to their employer’s pension scheme.

Jobcentre Plus: Training

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 24 June 2015 (HL542), how many individual members of Jobcentre Plus staff have undergone training on human trafficking.

Lord Freud: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) policy is to develop its staff in the skills and knowledge required to support a range of claimants sensitively and to respect their individual needs. The DWP aim is to identify and direct victims of human trafficking at the earliest opportunity to agencies able to support them. The training for DWP staff is contained within an overarching “Vulnerability” session. The number of Jobcentre Plus staff who have undergone the training since publication in January 2016 is 10,156.

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend Disability Living Allowance to children under the age of three who suffer from severe medical conditions which require them to have bulky medical equipment with them at all times.

Lord Freud: Families with children under the age of three are able to claim the care component of Disability Living Allowance where the child’s care needs are substantially in excess of the needs of a child of the same age without a disability. From 9 April 2001, the age condition for entitlement to the higher rate mobility component was lowered from 5 years to 3 years. In deciding to set the lower age limit, the department considered views of medical advisors and independent research; while the development of walking ability varies from child to child, by age 3 it was felt that it is realistically possible in the majority of cases to make an informed decision as to whether an inability to walk is the result of disability. We do however appreciate the difficulties that some families with severely disabled children aged under 3 face. We have met stakeholders at both Ministerial and official level to hear their concerns first-hand and are continuing to consider the matter.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Housing: Construction

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the new £18 million fund to accelerate house building will be used to build council houses.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The £18 million fund is a ‘capacity fund’ to tackle planning issues that can cause delay and prevent builders from getting on site and starting work quickly.It can be used to facilitate house building on all ownership and tenure models.

Housing: Construction

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the time period for the spending of the £7.2 billion on housing announced in the Autumn Statement.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The government’s announcement of £7.2 billion to support the construction of new homes at the Autumn Statement is part of the new National Productivity Investment Fund. The Fund will add £23 billion in high-value investment from 2017/18 to 2021/22.Within the £7.2 billion envelope, the government will provide an additional £1.4 billion to deliver an additional 40,000 affordable housing starts by 2020/21. The Autumn Statement envelope also includes borrowing by housing associations from private sector sources as a result of the additional investment. The government will also invest £1.7 billion by 2020/21 to speed up house building on public sector land. Finally, the government announced a new Housing Infrastructure Fund of £2.3 billion by 2020/21 which will deliver up to 100,000 new homes. Further details on how this fund will be allocated to local authorities will be set out in due course.

Council Tax: Valuation

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to undertake a revaluation of properties with a view to amending council tax bands.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The government has no plans to undertake a revaluation of properties.

Department for International Trade

Exports

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to follow a policy of export substitution.

Lord Price: This Government is committed to promoting UK exports of goods and services, to support a growing economy that creates wealth for all, supports jobs and meets our wider national interests. The Department for International Trade is working to deliver the best international trading framework for the UK to maximise global trade and investment opportunities.